Budget 2021: National Hydrogen Energy Mission to generate energy from green power sources

The usage of clean and renewable energy will bring India one step closer to growth and sustainability. With that in mind, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced renewable energy initiatives during the Budget 2021 presentation.

The finance minister highlighted the National Hydrogen Energy Mission has been set up in 2021-22 for generating hydrogen from green power sources, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hinted while speaking at the Third Re-inVest Conference in November 2020.

“To give a further boost to the non-conventional energy sector, I propose to provide an additional capital infusion of Rs 1,000 crore to Solar Energy Corporation of India and Rs 1,500 crore to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency,” the finance minister said.

In Part A, Sitharaman acknowledged that solar energy brings huge promises for India. In Part B, she highlighted the manufacturing plan for solar energy cells and collection panels.

“To build up domestic capacity, we will notify a phased manufacturing plan for solar cells and solar panels. At present, to encourage domestic production, we are raising duty on solar inverters from five percent to 20 percent, and on solar lanterns from five percent to 15 percent,” she said.

The National Hydrogen Energy Mission aims to reduce petroleum use, greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution, and contribute to more diverse and efficient energy infrastructure.

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The energy distribution companies across India are monopolies, either government or private. With that in mind, there is also a need to give consumers a choice by promoting competition, she said.

“A framework will be put in place to give consumers alternatives to choose from among more than one distribution company. The viability of distribution companies is a serious concern. A revamped reforms-based result-linked power distribution sector scheme will be launched with an outlay of Rs 3,05,984 crore over five years,” she said.

Moreover, the scheme will provide assistance to DISCOMS for infrastructure creation, including pre-paid smart metering and feeder separation, upgradation of systems, etc., tied to financial improvements, she added.

For YourStory's multimedia coverage of Budget 2021, visit YourStory's Budget 2021 page or budget.yourstory.com